6 minute read

Further Experience. More Opportunity.

from Viewbook 2021–22

from Viewbook 2021–22, page 2

Why LVC?

Employers say they want to hire college graduates who are adept at thinking critically, communicating effectively, analyzing information, and solving problems creatively.

Here at The Valley, you’ll achieve those outcomes through your coursework and outside-of-class experiences.

Christian Lantz ’21

2020–2021 Goldwater Scholar

Christian Lantz ’21, a biochemistry & molecular biology major, was named a 2020—2021 Goldwater Scholar by The Barry Goldwater Scholarship in Education Foundation. The national Goldwater Scholar award recognizes undergraduate researchers for truly exceptional work and provides up to $7,500 a year to help cover costs associated with their remaining undergraduate studies.

Lantz, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry through the National Institute of Health’s Oxford Cambridge Scholars Program, conducted undergraduate research with four LVC professors. In fall 2019, Lantz worked with LVC immunologist Dr. Courtney Lappas on “Exploring the Effect of Vitamin D on T-Cell Functionality.” That same semester, he worked with LVC biochemist Dr. Walter Patton on the “Development of Novel Papain and Pectinase Assays.”

In summer 2019, Lantz received a prestigious research opportunity to work in the Perilla Laboratory of Dr. Juan Perilla at the University of Delaware. The team researched “Unveiling the Fragility of HIV-1 Using Neural Network and Electron Microscopy,” with Lantz working on the beginning stages of coding a neural network for HIV-1 particle recognition. Lantz also was selected to participate in the prestigious Stanford University Amgen Summer Research Program as a genetics scholar for summer 2020.

Girls Who Code: Shaping the Lives of Young Computer Coders

Digital communications majors Bethany Kristich ’21 and Kayla Shuman ’21 started the Girls Who Code after-school program at Palmyra Area Middle School with two students in Fall 2018. As the program grew to 25 students by Spring 2019, the pair added Ozobot robots and Makey Makey mini-computers to the curriculum. A video of their work can be found on LVC’s YouTube channel.

Speech-language Pathology Clinic Opens on Campus

The Lebanon Valley College Center for Speech, Language, and Hearing Disorders is a free clinic available to children and adults with communication and swallowing disorders. Evaluations and interventions are provided by graduate student clinicians supervised by highly trained clinical educators with years of clinical experience.

LVC Adds Nursing Program

Our new bachelor of science in nursing degree will prepare you for the NCLEX-RN exam and licensure as a registered nurse to work in various fields. Your first two years will focus on communication and critical thinking skills followed by two years of nursing-specific courses, technology, research, and clinical experiences with local longterm care facilities and hospitals. You’ll learn in a new state-of-the-art facility on campus with expected completion in December 2022. Clinical placements will give you real-world experience in healthcare organizations, such as the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center or WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.

VALE Music Group

A student-run record label, VALE Music Group consists of four branches through which students recruit potential artists, record studio albums, and host live events, including the annual VALE Media Industries Conference. These unique opportunities at the undergraduate level provide LVC students with early experiences in this competitive industry.

Alyssa Lahoda ’20

Student Helps to Create New Musician Wellness Concentration

Alyssa Lahoda’s first-year research paper sparked by her passion culminated in a new Musician Wellness concentration that will positively impact LVC music students for years to come. Lahoda, who graduated with a degree in music (concentrations in violin and music theory) and a second degree in music business in May 2020, used her struggles with music performance anxiety (MPA) and physical wellness as the springboard for the research that went into the new concentration. The idea stemmed from an independent study project with Dr. Renee Norris, professor of music and past department chair.

“Alyssa made the case in her research that many music students feel uncomfortable sharing their physical and mental challenges around performing and practicing. A significant goal of this concentration is to destigmatize these challenges so that students may healthily focus on improving as musicians,” said Norris.

The concentration starts in Fall 2021 and includes one newly-created course—Music Performance Anxiety and Musician Wellness—that will be teamtaught by music faculty and a physical therapist.

Business Students Earn Global Rankings

LVC students in Dr. Robert Leonard’s Business 485 Strategic Management senior capstone course continue to earn Global Top 100 rankings for their Business Strategy Game performances. The class is divided into groups of students who spend a semester running their own companies and battling their classmates—and teams around the world—for market share, profits, and brand loyalty. LVC has run this course for nearly 15 years.

Learning Like a BOSS

LVC early childhood education majors work with elementary students in two area school districts in the Building Our Soft Skills (BOSS) program, which BOSS launched in spring 2018. LVC students developed and taught lessons on selfesteem, coping with anger, problem-solving, and test-taking strategies. Field placements and observations as early as their first year helped prepare them for this innovative project that started with 100 elementary students the first spring before expanding to 500 students in its second year.

Understanding the Invasion

Dani Jurina ’22 and Evelyn Dyer ’23 are gaining valuable experience under the guidance of Dr. Doug Becker, assistant professor of biology, as the trio researches the invasive spotted lanternfly. The project’s goal is to monitor changes in insect abundance and species composition emphasizing Orders Coleoptera (beetles) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants) as the lanternfly invades the campus’ Wood Thrush Preserve.

Allison Liu ’21

From Coast to Coast

Allison Liu ’21, an actuarial science and computer & data science double major, lived in Monterey, Calif., while she completed a 2019 summer internship with Capital Insurance Group (CIG) that provided valuable work experience.

Her projects included reserving for one of CIG’s lines of business as part of their quarterly reserve review process, creating and presenting a dynamic and interactive dashboard, and writing Python code for predictive modeling. Each assignment required independent learning, thoughtful questioning, and clear communication with different groups of people–skills she enhanced through her courses at LVC.

Her internship, meanwhile, offered her significant insights that she applied to her classes after returning to campus and planned her career path.

“I reflected on how what we learned fit in realworld situations so that they were more than just abstract concepts; they became solutions to actual problems. Not only did this help me learn better, but it also motivated me to continue learning and ask more questions. My internship experience showed me how high-performing teams function and continually improve on the group dynamic.”

Liu accepted a full-time position with CIG as anactuarial analyst in their Reno, Nev., office.